So let us chat to know what English grammar is. If you think that grammar is a set of rules that you’ve got to learn before you speak in English, you are mistaken. If you think that grammar is a book that you have to study to speak or write well, wrong once again.

There are many good speakers and writers who do not know formal grammar; yet they speak and write well.

Then why learn grammar?

Simple, it is fun, it tells you what the rules are, and then, if you know the rules, you can break them and get away with it.

That’s why I said it was fun.

So where do we begin? There is no question yet from my reader!

I will ask myself one and answer it.

What is a noun?

For a moment, let us forget the definition of the word and go for its origin. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English says that noun is derived from Old French nomwhich in turn comes from Latin nomen.

Good. When I use a word to name something, no matter what, I am using the word as a noun.

I will not begin it with the conventional way saying that it is a word that denotes a place, a thing, an animal or a person.

Of course, it does name things, certain nouns are difficult to be pinned down as the name of a thing.

Words, words, words. who said that? William Shakespeare, himself a master of words, and originator of many. Words have fascinated me. Maybe, that’s why I like books. That’s why I like the Word Document.

But these creatures, the words, are not easy to handle. Some are hard and unwieldy, some like weasels, slippery and unsure, while some are plain and uninspiring, and some downright alien.

For someone whose mother tongue is not English, the problem is even bigger. Idioms, phrases, collocation and above all, the articles. Is a word count or uncount? Does it take an article before it or not? What difference will it make if you place an article before a word? Try this: patient, a patient.

I am not a student of language or literature, but words, books and print draw me. Look at the blog service that has drawn me–WORDPRESS.

Okay, let me begin here, and explore what mysteries and adventures will this blog unfold.